The Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the Bangalore office of Singapore-based VC firm Sequoia Capital, late Monday night. Journalist and chartered accountant S Gurumurthy, who is co-convener of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, an affiliate of RSS, wrote in The New Indian Express in September past year alleging the involvement of Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram and Vasan Healthcare in a black money deal worth Rs 223 crore. Apparently, Chidambaram misused the FDI policy and bought 30,000 shares at INR 7,500, violating foreign exchange norms.
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Sequoia said in a Twitter message:”Sequoia has adopted a policy of full compliance with that investigation & has dutifully responded to governmental inquiries”.
The company also stated that the ED raid had no connection with companies like Aircel or Maxis.
“Contrary to media reports, Sequoia Capital India has absolutely no association with companies like Aircel or Maxis”. Ltd., in which Karti Chidambaram was a director. A report said that Karti Chidambaram was a director at Ausbridge at the time, and owned 95 per cent of the company.
Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India said it was the first to demand that Vasan Healthcare internally inquire into allegations of financial irregularities at the company.
Sequoia has been an investor in Vasan Healthcare since February 2009.
Investigators have also claimed that they were examining alleged FEMA violations of Rs 22.2 crore by Advantage Strategic Consultants Ltd (ASCL) and Vasan Healthcare, purportedly between 2008 and 2010. The ED is probing suspected foreign exchange violations by Vasan Healthcare, in which Sequoia is an investor.
According to Registrar of Companies filings, on 25 March 2011, Ausbridge Holdings bought 200,000 shares (amounting to a 66% equity stake) in Advantage Strategic.
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Karti Chidambaram’s businesses are being probed by both, ED and the Crime Branch of India (CBI) bureau.
